CHAPTER 41: CHAPTER 28: PROTECTING MY FAMILY (PART 2)

Little Braids left with the flat-haired Latino.

I remembered their faces because I knew this wasn’t over. Little Braids would keep selling contraband to Nina, and this quagmire would never disappear unless the quagmire itself was made to disappear.

Otherwise, Helen would become Nina’s scapegoat, fall into the hands of the gang, and I knew better than anyone what a pretty girl would go through. What awaited Helen was hell, or she would choose death.

This is an apartment, and it’s inconvenient for me to handle it here.

There would be many witnesses.

I picked up the phone and looked at the photos I had just secretly taken.

[Amir, check these two guys for me. Which gang do they belong to, what’s their name, where do they live, and who’s in their family?]

[Buddy, did these two bastards mess with you?]

[They’re eyeing my family.]

[Damn, do you want me to call in Duke and Freddie? Should we bring heavy firepower?]

[Find out their information.]

[Latinos from Dade County, right?]

[Yes.]

[I’ll ask my colleagues. I’ll get back to you later.]

I put my phone in my pocket and took the elevator downstairs.

I got into my Dodge and pulled a box from under the seat, which contained two magazines and a grenade.

[Buddy, Little Braids is called Juan, Juan Garcia Fernandez. I’ll send you his Dade County address. I have a friend who knows him; they both used to belong to the Mexican gang. These guys primarily deal in prostitution, selling marijuana, cocaine, and fentanyl.

They also engage in smuggling.]

[Snakeheads?]

[Exactly, they control some smuggling routes, bringing people from Mexico into Miami.]

[Illegal immigrants?]

[Yes, that’s why I quickly found out his details. They charge high prices, and the illegal immigrants even include Costa Rica and Honduras.

But recently they’re not getting along well with the Cubans.]

[Because of the smuggling market competition?]

[Yes, after all, Cuba is the closest place to Miami. By the way, the boss wants us to gather tomorrow.]

[I know. That’s it then.]

I glanced at the address Amir sent me.

Drove to Palm Avenue in Dade County, near Juan Garcia’s house.

This guy has a girlfriend who had a child for him, the woman is an illegal immigrant, but she now has a visa.

Passed a street corner, and Garcia’s house was not far ahead.

A one-story house, the door was open, a woman was inside feeding a baby.

I closed the car door, took the grenade, and walked over.

"Is Juan here?"

"He’s not home, at work, and you are?"

"I’m his friend." I said, handing a bouquet and a fruit basket to the woman. "I’m his friend from Miami, passing by today to see him. Unfortunately, it’s a shame."

"Thank you for the flowers, they’re beautiful. I’ll give him a call, he’ll be very happy to see you. Your Spanish is really good; it’s rare for a white person to be fluent in Spanish."

"My mother is Argentinian."

"Are you an immigrant too?" The woman happily put the child in the small bed.

"Sort of."

"I am too, nice to meet you. Please wait a moment, I’ll call him."

The woman, a bit puzzled, called her boyfriend.

"But he said he’s your friend!"

Little Braids was very confused, "I have no friend looking for me."

"But he bought flowers and fruit."

"Damn it, I’m coming back immediately."

The woman, a bit strange, poured me a glass of water. "Garcia will be back soon."

"Thank you."

The room fell silent, with only the occasional sound of the child crying.

I did not speak to the woman.

Soon, there was the sound of brakes outside the door.

"Baby, are you okay?" Little Braids rushed into the room, shouting, then looked back vigilantly at me, "It’s you?"

"Uh-huh." I spread my hands and stood up.

"What are you doing, bastard?" Garcia grabbed my collar.

I raised my hand, holding a grenade.

"Ahhh!" The woman screamed.

"Damn it." Garcia looked at me angrily.

"If you don’t calm down, everyone will go, boom, including your three-year-old son!"

"What do you want?"

I pushed Garcia away, "You said some offensive things to me today."

"Maniac." Garcia understood, he had said that if Nina didn’t pay, he would go after Helen. Helen was pretty, valuable, and even if she had no money, she could work for them, with her body, with anything, even selling her to rich men.

Similarly, he knew he had angered a crazy guy, someone who came to his home alone with a grenade.

"I don’t want to hear that. But your assessment of me is very accurate!" I closed the door holding the grenade.

"I’m sorry, it was my fault, I shouldn’t have said those things that made you angry." Garcia stood in front of his girlfriend, shielding the woman and child with his body.

"Alright, I accept your apology. But when you left, it seemed you didn’t understand my point. I don’t want to see you show up in front of me, or in front of Helen again. If there’s a next time, I’ll come with gifts and friends to visit all of your homes. Get it? I have family, and you do too."

"You can’t do this!"

I laughed, patted Garcia’s chest, and shook my head, "No no no, I can, since you came after my family, I can also go after your woman and child. And, I might visit all your relatives and friends.